Mitsubishi revealed that it does not want to import hybrid cars but will have to produce them in Indonesia – Photo: iNews.id
Mr. Atsushi Kurita, sales director of Mitsubishi Indonesia, said the company is researching market and government policies on hybrid vehicles. Technically, the company is set to produce the Xpander, even the hybrid Xforce, in Indonesia.
“As previously announced, Mitsubishi will be a hybrid expander in Thailand, because Thailand has a favorable tax policy. The price of hybrid cars in Thailand is cheaper than traditional gasoline cars,” he said at a press conference at the factory.
“For Indonesia, we are looking at the market conditions. Our competitors have introduced hybrid versions in the segment where XForce participates. We are studying the issue and are ready to introduce new ones to the Indonesian market. For compact SUVs using hybrid engines in the future,” he continued.
He also said that the company does not want to sell imported hybrid cars, but that the cars should be produced in Indonesia: “It is very likely that (the Xforce Hybrid) will be developed. We are confident in the ability to produce the Xforce Hybrid in Indonesia. We do. We do not want to introduce those imported hybrid car models because the government does not encourage it.”
If this turns out to be true, the Mitsubishi Xpander and Xforce will likely share a hybrid engine, just as the gasoline versions of these two models also share a 1.5L naturally aspirated gasoline engine.
Although not yet officially launched and assigned in Vietnam, Mitsubishi Xforce is ready to release a hybrid version, just waiting for favorable policies – Photo: Facebook
Mr. Atsushi Kurita’s revelation suggests two things. First, the fact that a hybrid version of the Xpander has been long predicted, but the Xforce has rarely been mentioned. Mr. Atsushi Kurita’s statement revealed the possibility of producing a hybrid version of the Mitsubishi Xforce, and if it turns out to be true, it will probably be produced in Indonesia.
Second, Mitsubishi aims to produce and distribute hybrid cars in markets with good policies, so distribution in other markets is difficult. If there is, the volume will be very limited to detect the market.
There are not many preferential policies for this car model in Vietnam currently. If the special consumption tax rate on battery electric cars is reduced from 15% to 3% (from March 1, 2022 to February 28, 2027), hybrid cars will still be subject to the mobile vehicles tax rate. Internal combustion engines have equal cylinder capacity.
This explains why hybrid cars are quite expensive in Vietnam. For example, the listed price of Toyota Corolla Cross 1.8HV hybrid imported from Thailand is 955 million VND, Toyota Camry 2.5HV is priced at 1,495 billion VND. One of the most affordable models is the Suzuki Ertiga Hybrid, which is located in the same Mitsubishi Xpander segment (560 million VND), priced at 538-608 million VND.
(TagstoTranslate)Mitsubishi Xpander(T)Mitsubishi XForce(T)Mitsubishi Xpander Hybrid(T)Mitsubishi
